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Wikipedia Editors Vote to Accuse Israel of Genocide During Ongoing Hamas War in Gaza
An Israeli soldier stands in a tank, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, near the Israel-Gaza border, in Israel, June 4, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Editors of the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia have renamed an entry that now outwardly accuses Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip during the country’s ongoing war against Hamas terrorists responsible for the Oct. 7 massacre in southern Israel.
After months of debating the matter, editors decided that the Wikipedia article “Allegations of genocide in the 2023 Israeli attack on Gaza” should be renamed “Gaza genocide,” Ynet reported. The Wikipedia entry cites academics, historians, scholars, legal experts, and others who support the false accusation. Among the experts repeatedly cited is Francesca Albanese, the United Nations’ notoriously controversial special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Palestinian territories. Albanese has an extensive history of using her role at the UN to denigrate Israel and seemingly rationalize Hamas’ attacks on the Jewish state.
A month after the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel, Albanese said she believes that Israel does not have the right to defend itself against Hamas. In early June, she criticized Israel for rescuing four hostages who were abducted by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 and held captive in the Gaza Strip. Both the US and Israel have called for her to be removed from her position, and UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer said in June that she is “the first UN special rapporteur in history to be condemned by France, Germany, and the US for antisemitism.” A spokesperson for the US State Department told Fox News that Albanese’s “allegations of genocide are unfounded.”
“Various observers, including United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, have cited statements by senior Israeli officials that may indicate an ‘intent to destroy’ (in whole or in part) Gaza’s population, a necessary condition for the legal threshold of genocide to be met,” the Wikipedia article states. “A majority of mostly US-based Middle East scholars believe Israel’s actions in Gaza are intended to make it uninhabitable for Palestinians, and 75 percent of them say Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute either ‘major war crimes akin to genocide’ or ‘genocide.’”
The Wikipedia entry also cites international organizations and news websites as sources, including the prominent anti-Israel group Jewish Voice for Peace and Turkey’s anti-Zionist, state-run news agency Anadolu. Gaza’s Ministry of Health (MOH), which is run by Hamas, is the source for the casualty statistics mentioned in the article.
It has previously been reported that the MOH makes no distinction in its casualty figures between civilians and Hamas terrorists, and experts have cast doubt on the reliability of casualty figures coming from Gazan health authorities. The MOH admitted in April that it had “incomplete data” for 11,371 Palestinian fatalities it claimed to have documented at the time.
The Wikipedia entry additionally features alleged statements from members of the Israeli government that have been misinterpreted, misrepresented, or not said at all, and still used to support claims of an Israeli “genocide” in Gaza. The page further mentions other notable figures who have falsely accused Israel of genocide, including Jewish Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), climate activist Greta Thunberg, rapper Macklemore, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai.
Wikipedia editors who are opposed to the article’s title change said it violates Wikipedia’s policy on neutral titles and accused the online encyclopedia of being biased against Israel, Ynet reported. They suggested adding words like “allegations” in the new title and argued that Wikipedia kept the word in another title — “Allegations of genocide in the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel” — but removed the term when it came to accusing Israel of genocide.
In June, Wikipedia editors voted that the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is a “generally unreliable” source for information about antisemitism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Dozens of Jewish organizations signed an open letter lambasting Wikipedia for the decision.
The post Wikipedia Editors Vote to Accuse Israel of Genocide During Ongoing Hamas War in Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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French Police Arrest Man Suspected of Attempted Arson Against Synagogue
French police stand guard after cars were set on fire in front of the city’s synagogue, in La Grande-Motte, France, August 24, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Manon Cruz
French police have arrested a man suspected of trying to set a synagogue ablaze in the southern French city of la Grande-Motte on Saturday, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.
About 200 police officers had been hunting for the suspect, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said earlier, adding that the attacker had set fire to several entry doors to the synagogue and several cars nearby.
BFM TV said the suspect was a 33-year-old Algerian. Local police declined to give details.
The anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office, which was put in charge of the investigation, said early on Sunday that a suspect had been arrested in Nîmes on Saturday evening.
“Before the police could intervene, (the suspect) opened fire on the (police), which returned fire. The man was wounded in the face,” the office said in a statement, adding that two other people were taken into custody.
A policeman was slightly injured when a gas bottle exploded as police secured the site of the attack on Saturday morning, Attal said.
“This is an antisemitic attack. Once more, our Jewish compatriots are targeted,” Attal said on X. “In the face of antisemitism, in the face of violence, we will never allow ourselves to be intimidated.”
After visiting the synagogue, Attal said an “absolute tragedy” had been narrowly averted after firefighters and police arrived quickly at the scene.
Local media reported earlier that the suspect had set fire to two cars, one of which contained at least one gas bottle, in the synagogue’s parking area at about 8:30 a.m. (0630 GMT).
Police protection of synagogues, and Jewish schools and shops would be stepped up across France, the government said.
France, like other countries in Europe, has seen a surge in antisemitic incidents following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel’s retaliatory action in Gaza.
Le Parisien, franceinfo and other media said the suspect had been seen on CCTV shortly before the attack with a Palestinian flag tied round his waist.
“Exploding a gas bottle in a car in front of the Grande Motte synagogue at the expected time of arrival of the faithful: it’s not just attacking a place of worship, it’s an attempt to kill Jews,” Yonathan Arfi, who leads the CRIF, an umbrella organization of French Jewish groups, said on X.
La Grande-Motte is a port and resort city on the French Mediterranean coast.
The post French Police Arrest Man Suspected of Attempted Arson Against Synagogue first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘First Phase’ of Attack Against Israel is ‘Over,’ Hezbollah Declares, Amid Fears of Regional War
Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters through a screen during a rally commemorating the annual Hezbollah Martyrs’ Day, in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Photo: Reuters/Aziz Taher
i24 News – A Hezbollah official said on Sunday that the jihadist group does not wish that its rocket and drone attack against Israel early in the morning should trigger a regional war and, as far as it is concerned, the “first phase” of the attack is over.
The official said the group took time to retaliate for the assassination of top commander Fuad Shukr last month due to “political considerations,” chiefly the ongoing talks on a ceasefire and hostage release deal for the Gaza Strip.
The terrorist did not elaborate as to why the group decided to launch its attack despite the still-ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
The official stressed the Shiite militia had “worked” to make sure its response to the July 30 assassination would not trigger a full-scale war.
Hezbollah launched over 320 rockets & drones at Israel, responding to the killing of terrorist Fuad Shukr
But before the strike, the IDF preemptively hit thousands of rocket launchers in Lebanon
Here is everything you need to know, including the latest safety instructions: pic.twitter.com/FyHik3aeIz
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) August 25, 2024
The post ‘First Phase’ of Attack Against Israel is ‘Over,’ Hezbollah Declares, Amid Fears of Regional War first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Syrian President Says Efforts to Restore Ties with Turkey Have Yielded No Results
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad speaks to the Syrian parliament in Damascus, Syria August 25, 2024. Photo: SANA/Handout via REUTERS
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday that efforts to mend ties with Turkey had so far brought no tangible results.
“The initiatives did not yield any results worth mentioning despite the seriousness and genuine keenness of mediators,” Assad said in a speech to the Syrian parliament, referring to conciliation efforts by Russia, Iran and Iraq.
Turkey severed ties with Syria in 2011 after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, in which it supported rebels seeking to oust Assad. Assad views the rebels as terrorists.
“The solution is openness,” Assad said. “Restoring a relationship requires first removing the causes that led to its destruction.”
The Syrian president made clear that while he wants Turkish troops to withdraw from Syria, that was not a precondition for talks.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said earlier in July he would extend an invitation to Assad “any time” for possible talks to restore relations.
A Turkish newspaper earlier reported Erdogan and Assad could meet in August, but a Turkish diplomat denied the report.
Russia has been trying to facilitate a meeting between the two leaders in an effort to restore ties. Iraq also said in July that it may seek to try to bring the two leaders together.
The post Syrian President Says Efforts to Restore Ties with Turkey Have Yielded No Results first appeared on Algemeiner.com.